HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 04-05-22; 6-c - Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board Request for Salary Range Update for the ABC Board General Manager 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 5, 2022
Action Agenda
Item No. 6-c
SUBJECT: Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board Request for Salary Range Update for
the ABC Board General Manager
DEPARTMENT: County Manager
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
1. Memorandum from ABC Board Chair Bonnie Hammersley, 919-245-2306
2. Excerpt from Minutes of the June 15,
2021 BOCC Business Meeting
PURPOSE: To consider a request from the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board to
update the ABC General Manager's salary range to either:
1) Correlate the General Manager salary range to that of a County department head;
or
2) Increase the salary cap for the ABC General Manager by 20% to $132,379.20
BACKGROUND: North Carolina General Statutes stipulate that the salary of the General
Manager of a local ABC board "shall not exceed the salary authorized by the General
Assembly for the clerk of superior court of the county in which the appointing authority was
originally incorporated unless such compensation is otherwise approved by the appointing
authority."
The Chair of the Orange County ABC Board has requested that the Board of Commissioners
consider allowing the ABC Board to grant a performance based salary increase to the ABC
Board's General Manager that exceeds the State limitation. The FY2021-22 authorized
salary for the Orange County Clerk of Superior Court is $110,316. The ABC General
Manager's current salary is within statutory maximum at $110,316.
According to the ABC Board's compensation policies, a performance rating of average or
abovewould qualify for an increase of between three percent (3%) and five percent (5%).
The ABC Board General Manager does not receive any additional compensation beyond the
amount reported in his annual salary. The ABC Board Chair has provided the attached
memorandum to support the ABC Board's request. The ABC Board Chair has indicated that
updating the General Manager's salary range will address salary compression and align with
other ABC Boards.
The ABC Board Chair is requesting correlating the General Manager's salary range to that
2
of a County department head. If that request is not BOCC approved, then the ABC Chair
requests to increase the salary cap for the General Manager position by 20% to $132,379.20.
The Durham and Wake counties' ABC General Manager caps are $145,000 and $194,463
respectively.
The Board of Commissioners previously considered a request from the ABC Board regarding the
General Manager's salary in June 2021. An excerpt of the minutes from the Board's June 15,
2021 Business meeting is attached.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has sufficient funds budgeted
to accommodate the potential salary range update for the General Manager.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are
applicable to this item:
• GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION
Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting
andvolunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal
impact associated with this item.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board consider the ABC Board's
request to update the salary range to either correlate the General Manager salary range to
that of a County department head, or increase the salary cap for the ABC General Manager
by 20% to $132,379.20
3
COUNTY OF ORANGE
.ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD
601 VALLEY FORGE RI]
HILLSBOROUGH,NORTH CAROLINA 27278
419-732-3432
ocabc r oran�eabc.eom
Board Members
PATRICK BURNS, Board Chair ALICA MAHOOD
LIZ CARTER, Vice-Chair MIKE ZITO
TONY DUBOIS. General Manager JUDSON WILLIAMSON
March 3, 2022
The Honorable Chair Renee Price
Orange County Board of Commissioners
300 W Tryon St
Whitked Bldg, Rm-220
Hillsborough INC 27278
Dear Chairperson Price:
Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 18B-700 (g1), The Orange County ABC Board must set our
General Manager's salary either in line with the Orange County Clerk of Superior Court, or at a range
approved by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The purpose of the letter is to officially request the
Orange County Board of Commissioners consider updating this range.
Since 2015 sales have increased for the ABC board 51%. Despite the COVI D-19 pandemic and all of the
challenges it has presented, sales have risen 27% in just the past two years. As you might imagine, this has
added much more complexity and responsibility to the General Manager's position. For fiscal year
2019/2020, our total sales were$24,028,572. For fiscal year 202012021, our total sales increased to
$27,158,053.
The Orange County ABC Board has increased the entry level wage 71%since 2015 to maintain the living
wage yet the top wage has only increased 19%creating massive salary compression at all levels, We also
feel the current level is not competitive with other Boards. Below you will find our salary chart,which clearly
shows the compression issue. Approving this request would help alleviate the compression issue, make us
more competitive and put us in a better position for future growth.
Orange County ABC Board Salary Ranges by Position
Hourly Positions
Level Job description Location Minimum Maximum
3 Temporary Various $15.00hr $15.00hr
4 Part-Time Various 15.85hr 17.00 hr
5 Supervisor Various 15.85hr 42,000
7 Assistant Manager Any Store 36,000 58,000
10 Store Manager Any Store 44,000 74,000
4
Salary Positions
Leel Job Description Location Minimum Maximum
12 Buyer Assistant OfficefWhse 42,000 67,000
13 Admin Office 44,000 70,000
14 Buyer OfficeANhse 56,000 87,000
15 Finance Office 62,000 92,000
16 Assistant GM Office 68,000 107,000
17 GM Office 87,000 110,316
Orancle County ABC Board organization:
To give your board members some information about our organization,we have 5 board members, 8 stores,
an administrative office and a warehouse. We have a total of 60 employees, which includes only 6
administrative staff members. Our current budget for 2021/2022 is$2,300,000, which includes grants for law
enforcement, alcohol education as well as contributions to the county fund. These contributions increased
this year due to increased sales. We also rewarded our front line employees with raises for continuing their
hard work through the pandemic, as well as a 5%401 k match. We also recently approved increasing our
entry level wage to the"Orange County Living Wage".
Durham, Wake, and several other counties have adjusted their General Manager's pay range to be more
closely aligned with competing Alcohol Control Boards, county leadership positions and the private sector.
After comparing equivalent budgets for alcohol sales and revenue trends, The Orange County ABC Board
respectfully requests tying the GM job range to that of a county department head. Should your Board decide
this is not a viable option,we would provide an alternate request to increase the salary cap for the General
Manager position 20% to$132,379.20.
Other area Board General Manager pay ranges:
Durham County ABC General Manager salary range: $120,000-$145,000
Wake County ABC General Manager salary range: $121,463-$194,463
We want to thank you and the entire board for considering our request, as well as the support you provide
our organization. Our staff works hard to serve the citizens of Orange County by providing a wide selection
of products and providing outstanding customer service. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly
with any questions.
Sincerely,
Patrick R. Burns
Orange County ABC Chair
Orange County ABC Board
ym-w.orangeabc c n
5
22
The Chair of the Orange County ABC Board has requested that the Board of Commissioners
consider allowing the ABC Board to grant a performance based salary increase to the ABC
Board's General Manager that exceeds the State limitation. The FY2020-21 authorized salary
for the Orange County Clerk of Superior Court is $107,625. The ABC General Manager's
current salary is at that statutory maximum. Therefore, any merit based salary increase would
exceed the State salary limit.
According to the ABC Board's compensation policies, a performance rating of average or
above would qualify for an increase of between three percent (3%) and five percent (5%). The
ABC Board General Manager does not receive any additional compensation beyond the
amount reported in his annual salary. The ABC Board is considering an across the board five
percent (5%) increase for all ABC employees at its June 15, 2021 meeting.
The ABC Board Chair is requesting authorization to grant a performance based salary
increase of up to five percent (5%), which would result in a maximum salary of$113,006.
Travis Myren reviewed the background information for the item.
Commissioner McKee said he brought this item forward, and this has been done several
times in the past. He said some communities were providing lavish salaries in the past, which
may have generated the State law.
Chair Price said she has an issue with providing this increase when no increases were
provided for other County employees.
Commissioner Dorosin said he has issues with percentage increases at the top end of
the spectrum. He said it sounds fair because everyone receives it, but in truth, the gap in pay
between top earners and lower earners, just increases.
Commissioner Hamilton said she shares the concerns of Chair Price and Commissioner
Dorosin. She said she does not know all the finances of the ABC board, but it seems that, given
the impact of their service, more money should be flowing to impact people who suffer from the
effects of alcohol. She said she has concerns giving ABC staff raises, when current County
employees have not gotten any raises.
Commissioner McKee said the raise would not be coming from County funds, and the
ABC Board is an independent organization that is revenue positive. He said the more profits
they make, the more they are able to provide back through the County, and organizations that
address the impacts of alcohol. He said the increase is up to 5%, and the exact percentage is
up to the ABC Board. He said new stores that have been built are doing extremely well, as well
as remodeled stores. He said he understands that County did not give raises, but the ABC
board is not part of the BOCC's budgetary process. He said the BOCC is just allowing the raise
to be possible, and the ABC board will determine the specifics. He said this has been done
before without any discussion.
Commissioner Bedford asked if the ABC board has been able to maintain living wage for
all employees.
Commissioner McKee said yes, as far as he knows.
Chair Price said she understands it is not County money, and it has been done before,
but the County has not been in a pandemic before. She said if it was something that dealt with
health, she would vote yes, but she will vote against it.
A motion was made by Commissioner McKee to approve the ABC Board's request to
exceed the statutory limit on the General Manager's salary by up to five percent (5%).
The motion failed due to lack of a second